Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use Patterns on Carbon Emissions in China

Abstract

Nowadays, China is the world’s second largest economy and largest carbon emitter. This paper calculates the carbon emission intensity and the carbon emissions per capita of land use in 30 provinces at the national level in China from 2006 to 2016. A spatial correlation model is used to explore its spatiotemporal features. The results show that (1) China’s land use carbon emissions continued to grow from 2006 to 2016. The spatial heterogeneity of carbon emission intensity of land use initially decreased and then increased during this period. The carbon emission of land use pattern reached a peak in 2015 and the land use carbon emission intensity was relatively lower in east China; (2) southern China accounts for a majority of the total Chinese carbon sink. Better economic structure, land use structure and industrial structure will lead to lower carbon emission intensity of land use; (3) carbon emissions per capita of land use in China are affected not only by land development intensity, urbanization level, and energy consumption structure, but also by the population policy. It is significant to formulate differentiated energy and land use policies according to local conditions. This study not only provides a scientific basis for formulating different carbon emission mitigation policies for the local governments in China, but also provides theoretical reference for other developing countries for sustainable development. It contributes to the better understanding of the land use patterns on carbon emissions in China.

Variation of Net Carbon Emissions from Land Use Change in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region during 1990–2020

“…Previous studies on carbon emissions from land use change at home and abroad were primarily concentrated on the spatiotemporal variation of different land use types and their relevant effects on carbon emissions, carbon emission accounting, influencing factors of land use change, and carbon emissions [10][11][12][13]. The Guidelines for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided a valuable methodological reference for accounting carbon emissions from land use change [13,14]. Besides, some scholars also proposed the emission coefficient method for the carbon emission accounting of cropland, forest land, grassland, and built-up area and explored the effects of land use change on carbon emissions [14][15][16].…”

Estimating the Decoupling between Net Carbon Emissions and Construction Land and Its Driving Factors: Evidence from Shandong Province, China

“…In China, a country endowed with a vast territory and natural resources, economic development varies from one region to another, and carbon emissions also vary in space [ 14 ]. The country needs to take differentiated and refined carbon reduction measures according to local conditions.…”

Using a Random Forest Model to Study the Impact of Local Government‐Led Urbanization on Urban Sustainable Development

“…Infrastructure investment will further increase government revenue and form internal strengthening mechanisms [ 42 , 43 ], which cause excessive urbanization and hinder urban sustainable development. If the local government provides more land for the construction of public services and intends to channel revenues more to industrial restructuring, the living conditions of residents will be improved, and environmental pollution and carbon emissions will be reduced [ 44 , 45 ].…”